He was on top of a frozen lake in Minnesota, and he was in rough shape. His shell was totally deformed, and wildlife rehabilitators at Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota (WRC) rushed to figure out what was wrong with him.

"The single lung snapping turtle (with the partially concave shell) went through a brief recheck exam to make sure he's doing well prior to release," WRC wrote on Facebook last week. "We're beginning to prep turtles for their upcoming return to the wild. This means gradually dropping the temperature of their tub water so they don't go from their over-wintering temperature to frigid lake temps."